Australia offers $60m for Indonesia's cattle industry

The Australian meat export industry still has no details on boosting trade with Indonesia, despite Kevin Rudd's visit to Jakarta.

The Prime Minister announced on Friday night that Australia will spend $60 million over a decade to help Indonesia grow its cattle industry.

Mr Rudd used the talks on Friday to also call on Indonesia to relax the quotas it puts on cattle imports from northern Australia.

"I was pleased to announce the establishment of the Indonesia-Australia Red Meat and Cattle Forum a $60 million, 10-year initiative to boost investment in the Red Meat agribusiness sector in Indonesia," he said.

"It's good for Australian beef industry, It's good for Indonesia investors and good also for Indonesian consumers.

"The president and I also discussed extensively cattle exports to Indonesia and I thank Indonesia for its co-operation given recent challenges and of course we've also discussed the continuing challenges of animal welfare."

Mr Yudhoyono has not yet agreed to the initiative, but welcomed the extra investment.

The Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association welcomed the support for increased live export quotas.

"We are cautiously optimistic that what this is about is about improving the overall dialogue and relationship with Indonesia.

"We are not expecting things to change overnight, but this is about building foundations that can be built on."

Technical issues still hold up export of beef to Indonesia.

The Australian Meat Industry Council reports that while the holy month of Ramadan starts in two days, the bulk beef imports are being delayed because of discussions over whether they should be chilled or frozen.

AMIC says the Indonesian Bureau of Logistics has requested beef in chilled quarters. But most export processors are only set up to freeze smaller boxes of beef for shipping.